Posts Tagged With: God

One minute I’m celebrating the joy of my mum’s 70th birthday the next minute I’m overwhelmed by all the tragedy in the world. Plane crash in Egypt; concert fire in Romania; war torn Iraq, Syria, and Libya; drunk drivers crashing into trick-a-treaters; refugees fleeing war-ravaged cities and arriving in Europe in the thousands, many drowning enroute from Northern Africa; disease-plagued countries; poverty, malnutrition; violent extremists; and a general lack of tolerance for humanity. It’s all overwhelmingly depressing. With all this going on around us, what is there to rejoice about?

Usually we respond with gratitude for being spared from these atrocities. I don’t want to believe that a loving God would spare some and just say “screw-it” to others.
Some Christians will even say things like “God must be punishing them for their sins.” I can’t even fathom the logic and the venomous judgement in this statement. It paints God as an egotistical maniac who goes around ignoring His own promises simply to place “some” sinners in His crosshairs and to then “take them out” with a tornado or earthquake.

Some direct their anger towards God, blaming Him for the state of the world and at the same time denying He even exists because a loving God wouldn’t let any of this happen. These same people will also find someone to blame. It must be the U.S. President’s fault because leadership (the one you don’t like or support) is always responsible.

Honestly, if you have a heartbeat, you can’t help but be moved to some sort of reaction and then…?

Exactly. What happens next?

I have noticed an acute focus on God’s priorities following disaster or tragedy. We may not be outright accepting of a specific dogma, but we tend to value love over hate, tolerance over intolerance, service over self, giving over taking, fraternity over factions, solutions over blame, forgiveness over resentment, and of course, grace and mercy.

We live in a very imperfect world filled with imperfect people. With this inherent imperfection, we simply lack the capability to create perfection. We easily try to talk in terms of goodness but goodness wasn’t the plan to begin with. “Good” people have bombed abortion clinics. “Good” people traded slaves and hung them on trees. “Good” people have stood by and watched others prey upon the weakened (notice I didn’t say weak). “Good” people troll the Internet daily and “kill” people with their vilifying comments and then blame them for “putting themselves out there” as to say, “well they deserve it”.

I wish there was a utopia where we could all just rejoice 24/7. A place without pain or sorrow. A place with clean air, green grass, blue waters, no famine or disease, no family drama. A place where birds chirped, lions roared, and people sang all in one rhythmic chorus.

Wait! Such a place has already been described…by the One who envisioned it to begin with. He also promised that in this world, we would have trouble but in Him, there’d be peace. He didn’t just leave an image for us to be transfixed while staring longingly into space for that utopia. He offered and indeed freed us from mental and spiritual slavery while here. He left instructions on how to treat others in the midst of the storm. He acknowledged that our attempts at goodness would never hit the mark but then offered to bridge the gap between our fallen nature and perfection.

How can you rejoice at a time like this? You don’t rejoice in what is…you rejoice in the hopefulness of what is to come. That hope leads to a peace that passes all understanding. That peace is hard to contain and drives us to serve others with our time, talent, and treasures. That service, is how humanity bounces back from tragedy. All this is done, not for praise or recognition, but with a deep sense that “we are all beggars, telling other beggars where to find bread.”

What if you don’t believe any of this? Then the obvious question is, what do you believe and how does what you believe inform your reaction to the world around you. I remember a conversation I had with my son a few years ago. It was about value. What we do either adds value to people’s lives or doesn’t. Thus, the purpose of this post isn’t to advocate a certain dogma, but to encourage a perspective that results in added-value in spite of crises or calamity.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33

Yes, all those years of training, football (soccer to many of you), track and field, and mountain hikes in South West Asia, I’ve never gone under the knife. Well, today I did. Was I scared or nervous? No…more like anxious to get rid of this “thing” that had been growing like an alien species on my wrist for months.

However, all the appointments to discuss the risks of anesthesia (in its many forms); the advice from friends (about what kind of anesthesia to go for); and, just the reality of a part of my body being cut open only helped to increase my anxiety. Then came the doctors and nurses, at separate points before I was rolled into the operating room. They each explained what was going to happen, how it was going to happen, and how long it would take. They were so reassuring!

About 30 times today I was asked to verify my name and date of birth. Part of me started to think they were planning a surprise party afterwards and wanted to be sure. It never happened. They also kept asking what I was allergic to; this is when I decided to add the word “stupid” to my list of allergies. Yes, I’m allergic to stupid. Unfortunately, the nurses didn’t have a wrist band for that allergy; but they all laughed in agreement.

I was promised a drip “cocktail” that would sedate me while I was in surgery. Whatever that cocktail was, they need to put some ice cubes in it and pass me a glass, because I don’t remember squat! One minute, I was repeating my name and birthday for the umpteenth time, and the next minute, a nurse was explaining the bandages and stint on my left forearm. I slept through the whole thing!

I’m in recovery now…at home, and will need weeks of physical therapy. Nevertheless, the fact that I’m blogging this with one hand and not curled up in a fetal position in bed is a testament to God’s goodness; the professionalism and expertise of the doctors; and the care those nurses provided.